Holiday Review Guide: Part 2 - Nintendo DS Games

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
Nintendo, Level- 5
Available for Nintendo DS

Professor Layton and his assistant, Luke are back in Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, the sequel to the highly successful adventure puzzle game, Professor Layton and the Curious Village. After a close friend of the Professor is killed by apparently the curse of the mysterious Elysian Box, the dynamic duo board a train in order to solve the murder and prove the box’s curse is not behind it.

Full of grand new puzzles and tons of new locations to explore, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box not only matches the fun and challenge of the first game, it surpasses it. I will note this is a fairly challenging game and though it’s age rating 10 and up, its harder puzzles might be too difficult for anyone below a high school level. Puzzle and adventure genre fans will love this series and I highly recommend picking up this title and the first if you haven’t already.

Rating: 9 out of 10
Buy it!

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Square Enix, Disney Interactive Studios
Available for the Nintendo DS

Fans have been waiting a long time for a Kingdom Hearts II sequel and well, they just have to keep waiting because the newest title in the series, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days is an inter-sequel, a game which takes place between the events of Kingdom Hearts: Chains of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II. This time the game focuses on Roxas and all his time spend with the organization leading up to the starting events of Kingdom Hearts II.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days’ control system is easy to use – no silly stylus controls to confuse things and the story line really gives you a chance to discover more background info on Roxas and the organization. While I would prefer to see Kingdom Hearts III out on store shelves, as long as Square Enix is shipping some sort of Kingdom Heart title, I guess I can’t complain. Overall, this isn’t the most action packed Kingdom Hearts game in the series but this game is better than no game.

Rating: 7 out of 10
Rent it!

Scribblenauts
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, 5th Cell
Available for Nintendo DS

Most games are what the developers make it but with the newest title from 5th Cell and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Scribblenauts is what you make it. Imagine being able to write any word down and having that object appear – well, that’s the concept behind Scribblenauts. Each puzzle in the game gives you an endless stream of possibilities on how to solve them and all from just writing a single word.

The entertainment value alone comes from the endless fun you can have from seeing what objects you can find in the game’s built-in dictionary but the game itself needs some work before it can live up to its original design promise. The controls were a bit off and the instructions in some of the puzzles were a bit unclear making puzzle completion impossible. Overall, this game’s unique concept had huge potential but certain failed elements need to be fixed before this game can truly be successful.

Rating: 5 out of 10
Pass on it!

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
Nintendo, AlphaDream
Available for the Nintendo DS

In Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, the Mushroom Kingdom is in trouble again and only the Mario Brothers can bring peace back to the Kingdom with the help of Bowser ... wait, what? Yep, that’s right. After a Fawful, the new bad guy in the Mushroom Kingdom infects the inhabitants with a horrible disease and causes Bowser to swallow the Mario Brothers, the Princess and their friends whole, it’s up to Bowser and the Brothers to work together to stop Fawful from taking over the entire kingdom.

Fans of the brothers will love this cute throwback to the old RPG Mario series with fabulous new graphics, hilarious voice-overs and tons of sweet Mario action. You’ll be able to take control of both the Brothers and Bowser in a neat duel screen system and explore the inner workings of one of gaming history’s most famous villains, Bowser. Trust me when I say Super Mario Bros. Wii won’t be the only Mario game selling like hotcakes this Holiday season.

Rating: 9 out of 10
Buy it!

E3 2009: Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

While Japan has been seeing Professor Layton sequels for a while, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box is the first sequel in the series to finally reach North American shores.

The game centers around a mysterious box that causes death to any one that opens it and has our puzzle-solving duo using a train to travel from town to town. No release date yet but I'm just glad to know we're getting an English version at some point. I loved the first Professor Layton game and look forward to the next.

Review: Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Level 5
Available on the Nintendo DS



Nintendo seems to have produced another classic title with their newest casual gaming title, Professor Layton and the Curious Village. Meant to test you and maybe even frustrate you, the Professor is packed full of a 100+ plus mind puzzles to activate every piece of your brain as well as a wonderful storyline that will have you loving every minute of the Professor’s wit and charm.

You’ll follow Professor Layton and his assistant, Luke to the tiny town of St. Mystere where you will have to unravel the mystery surrounding the town, its inhabitants and the location of the Reinhold family fortune. At every turn, you’ll find puzzles waiting for you to solve, in order for you to find more clues to solve the many mysteries in town.

Puzzles ranged from math problems to cryptograms and, each puzzle will challenge you and possible even haunt you while you sleep. The puzzles in the game will generally be posed to you by the local village people as a test to gain the information you need to proceed. Missed puzzles will turn up in a villager’s house after each chapter, so you‘ll never lose a chance to solve them later.



The graphics and animation sequences remind me of the old Rin Tin Tin cartoons with its older European style. The music is straight out of an Agatha Christine movie on PBS and fits in with the atmosphere of the mysterious village perfectly. The cut scenes are a little blocking at times, but still look pretty good on the Nintendo DS screen.

The length of the main storyline depends on how fast you solve the puzzles, but luckily for you geniuses, completing all the puzzles in the village will unlock more puzzles and there’s also a weekly puzzle that can be downloaded via Wifi.

Professor Layton is most charming, addictive and perfect for puzzle fans and I highly recommend that anyone who loved Brain Age on the Nintendo DS, go out and buy this game. The village is waiting.

Rating: 9 out of 10
Buy It!

Sequel confirmed for Professor Layton and I jump for joy

After playing Professor Layton for three days straight, I finally finished the main storyline with 115 out of 120 puzzles solved and the gizmo finished. Of course, there's still lots to finish which I intend to do, but the best part of finishing the game was finding out that there's a sequel already in the works.

When you finish the game, there's bonus features that unlock and in those bonus features is the hidden door that needs a code from the sequel game to open. Sequel game? Nintendo is currently working on bringing the sequel, Professor Layton and the Devil box to North America in December.

This is happy news for Professor Fans who have already experience the joy that it this game and this is also a warning for slackers to get their butts in gear and play the game now, before the sequel reaches our shores.

PLAY THIS GAME ALREADY!

[Sequel information via Game|Life]